1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a belt conveyer system in which material is transported by an endless conveyor belt that can be closed off to form a hose, and that can be made of rubber or rubber-like synthetic material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
By embodying the conveyer belt as a so-called hose belt that can be closed off to form a complete circular cross-section by overlapping the longitudinal edges of the belt, it is possible, at high conveying capacities, to overcome steeper inclines than was possible with the previously customary flat or trough conveyer belts. However, in the heretofore known conveyer systems equpped with such a hose belt, problems were encountered in those sections where the belt opened from its circular, closed, cross-sectional shape into the flat, spread-out shape. These problems were due to the fact that in these sections the material that was being transported was unprotected and could thus be subjected to wind and rain. Such open sections of the conveyer system occur on the one hand where the belt changes over from a steeply ascending stretch into a flat or descending stretch, and on the other hand occur at the end of a transporting stretch where the belt is guided in a flat state about an end guide roller and the material that is being transported is discharged.
It is therefore an object of the present invention also in these two regions to provide a possibility for obtaining and utilizing the advantages of the closed, hose belt conveying, i.e. the complete enclosure of the material that is being transported, to the greatest extent possible .